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Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by prostoalex on Monday April 10, 2017 @11:56PM (#14084733)
An alcohol manufacturer rarely has an army of designers, data scientists and engineers working non-stop to make their product more addictive and measuring their success on engagement growth.
Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by dragonwriter on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @12:25AM (#14084839)
> An alcohol manufacturer rarely has an army of designers, data scientists and engineers working non-stop to make their product more addictive and measuring their success on engagement growth.

They have at least the first two, and tobacco companies have, or historically have had, all three. Job titles are slightly different, but basic functions are the same.

Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by wpietri on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @01:38AM (#14085126)
This is just not true. Go visit a vineyard, distillery, or a brewery. People may be trying to improve the quality of the product, but they are not relentlessly trying to increase "user drinking minutes" or any metric like that. They do try to sell more of their product, but their main goal is getting better reviews, wider distribution, and more customers, not stuffing people like foie gras geese.
Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by dragonwriter on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @02:31AM (#14085367)
> This is just not true.

Yes, it is.

> . Go visit a vineyard, distillery, or a brewery. People may be trying to improve the quality of the product, but they are not relentlessly trying to increase "user drinking minutes" or any metric like that.

Yes, that's exactly what the marketing arms of the firms involved, and the advertising agencies they employ, are trying to do. (There's some actual product-development involvement there, too; light and ultra-light beers were invented pretty much exactly to maximize user drinking minutes.)

Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by chongli on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @05:07AM (#14086016)
That's really only true for big companies like Ab-Inbev. You aren't going to see any of that at your mom and pop vineyard or craft microbrewery. You also don't see much of that pathological, exploitive behaviour in 1 person indie game shops either, however.
Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by dagw on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @07:44AM (#14086761)
You aren't going to see any of that at your mom and pop vineyard or craft microbrewery.

Half the craft microbreweries are owned by Ab-Inbev and the likes.

Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by chongli on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @02:11PM (#14090819)
Yes, and tons of indie developers are beholden to big publishers like Sony and Microsoft. That doesn't change the fact that there are plenty of properly independent folks.

Also, I am not aware of the craft microbreweries owned by the big companies engaging in the sort of abusive behaviours that the main brands engage in, are you?

Needless to say, it's a complicated picture.

Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by Hasknewbie on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @01:44AM (#14085151)
As others have pointed out, alcohol/tobacco manufacturers do in fact have these.

However because addiction is a known factor in their industry, I think they are kept somewhat in check, if only for legal reasons. I don't think Internet companies have any such qualms, so I would agree that they basically are trying to 'weaponize' this addiction.

Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by Terr_ on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @12:11AM (#14084791)
Sure they do, they just focus on marketing and packaging more than on trying to create new chemicals.
Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by siegecraft on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @12:00AM (#14084750)
Some do
Re:Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've ... by M_Grey on Tuesday April 11, 2017 @12:04AM (#14084764)
I would be utterly shocked if most of the big ones didn't, and I'd be even more shocked if they (along with tobacco companies) had helped to develop techniques now taken for granted in the digital world.